So tell me which of these pottery designs you love best...

I went to the New York International Gift Fair in August.  (Now I tell you!)  Wish you could have been with me.  I had a blast!

I went to touch and breath in some of the newest and most dazzling work in Italian pottery.  And, especially delightful, I met for the first time Luca Sambuco from Ceramiche Sambuco.  Luca and I had been emailing back and forth for a number of months, so it was super to meet him in person -- and his brother Luciano.  Now, I have the honor of giving you a peak at some of the new designs they brought to the New York Gift Fair.

Here we go...

 

Do you know who this is?

I'm testing your knowledge here (just a little) of Italian pottery design.  Take a second look...

I want to pinch their cheeks.

If you said, Raffaellesco, good on you!  This is the time-honored, much loved Raffaellesco pattern.  (Another time, if you like, I will tell you more about the Raffaellesco myth and how it came to be one of the most popular pottery designs.)

For now, I want to show off more of the work.

ABOVE:  The traditional, classic presentation of Raffaellesco pattern.

ABOVE & BELOW:  Sambuco's more modern application in design & form of these whimsical, mythical dragons.  Notice how the "canvass" gives the dragon greater white space in which to show off.  I'd call the above platter shape a "squared octagonal."

I have a soft spot for square plates.  And I love the Raffaellesco dragons peaking around the edges.

Moving now into the olive grove...

Luscious and plump!  A pattern needing no more detailed name than simply, "Olive."  Look at the wonderful shapes of the bowls!

 And finally (for now)...

FARFALLE...Italian for Butterfly.  Colorful, vivid, warm, delicate and strong -- all in one.  This design is Vario Farfalle.